Other Sides
by Aciddrop Kitty
Summary: Danny's been thinking far more than usual lately, and has a few theories he'd like to confirm. And who better than to bounce those ideas off of than Clockwork? AU: Post TUE


Disclaimer: If I owned DP it would be more like an anime, so I obviously don't.

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Danny effortlessly darted around the various floating perils of the Ghost Zone, searching hidden rift. Spotting it, he carefully let himself pass through, before speeding through the tower to his destination. There in front of the time portal was just the Ghost he needed to see. Pausing for a moment, he shrugged.

"Hey Clockwork, how's it going?" he greeted as he flew down into the observatory. Clockwork turned and nodded, expecting him as usual.

"As well as it ever is." He replied enigmatically, just for the sake of it.

"That's good," he added as an after thought, "I guess. I was wondering if you maybe had a minute to spare?" he winced immediately, Clockwork however, found great amusement in his bungling words.

"For you Danny, I have all the time in the world." He smirked and Danny glared.

"Ha ha, very funny. Remind me why I come here again?"

"Because you look to me for guidance, as I am the only one who knows many of the answers you seek," he paused before smirking again, "and you think hanging out with the Master of Time is cool." Embarrassment momentarily flickered across the boy's face before could force deadpan expression, deciding to pretend the past few seconds never happened.

"Speaking of questions, I was wondering if you wouldn't mind answering one for me." The humor instantly evaporated, and Clockwork frowned.

"That depends on what you'd like to know." Eyes narrowed and suddenly Danny felt very small. He knew Clockwork hated it when he asked for things, but he'd come here for a reason, an important reason, and he wasn't going to back down now.

"It's about the past, well, the past future, you know the one that doesn't happen any more, because I'm not evil." He looked irritated by his wording again, but the mild surprised Clockwork accidentally let show apparently made him feel better.

"The alternate timeline?"

"Yeah, that." he mumbled. "I was thinking about how it was Vlad's ghost-half that made mine go crazy. But, the human part, while still being a fruitloop, helped me in the end."

"And you want to know why?"

"Sort of, see I don't think Vlad is really evil, in that timeline or this one. Ghosts aren't the actual soul of those who died, just the lingering unfilled emotions and desires that have taken physical form, right?" Clockwork nodded. "So if someone, like me and Vlad, get turned half ghost, then the emotions we had at the time we 'died' became forever immortalized as the ghost."

"I suppose that's one way to put it."

"Well, when I was changed, all I really wanted to be was to be important, remembered, someone who people liked, really respected, and who my parents could be proud of. Because those must have been my strongest desires, my ghost half has an over-the-top hero complex. Now my human half has normal emotions, so I change as a person on that side, but since half of me is always 'the hero', no matter what happens to me, that half has a major impact on who I am."

"That's quite an incredible amount of insight for a fourteen year old. I'm impressed." His charge grinned proudly. "However, Vlad was still your parent's friend when he was hit by the ghost portal, therefor the ghost couldn't be evil." Danny's grin only brightened.

"Well yeah, but he didn't immediately 'die' like I did. If he had, my parents would have seen him in his ghost form, but they didn't, the only visible effect was ecto-acne. I think the acne took a while to 'kill' him, and because of that, all of the hate, anger, and jealousy he felt after the accident were what fed into and eventually created the evil version of Vlad."

"That's plausible."

"Right! So like Phantom influences me with a hero complex that I can't ignore, Plasmius must be what's keeping Vlad from forgiving my parents and moving on with his life. That's why when he was removed to create Dan in the other timeline, human Vlad was able to become good again." Clockwork smiled fondly at the boy.

"So he did. But if you know this, why are you here?" Danny shifted nervously.

"I, um, wanted to make sure." he laughed embarrassed, Clockwork stared incredulously.

"Oh?" He looked straight at the boy who met his gaze fearlessly.

"Hey! Even I know It would be kind of stupid to go and try and help him if I wasn't sure he could be saved. But if you can tell me I'm right, then I know there must be a way to do it." There was a finality to his words. His eyes betraying determination that once again managed to surprise Clockwork; Danny had a knack for pushing past all of the unspoken expectations placed on him.

"You truly wish to try and save the man who has single-handedly caused you more grief and pain than anyone else? Despite all odds and incredible risks you'd face?"

"What? No way! I'm saving Vlad, not Lancer," and just like that, he'd brushed off the foreboding truth and laughed.

Clockwork shook his head, amusement clearly negating the action, and ruffled the boy's hair affectionately. Somewhere he knew the Observants were looking down on him irately; he felt oddly vindicated.

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A/N: Yay for random theoretical nonsense! I love it so... I'll admit, I have a soft spot for Vlad because let's face it, he's gotten the short end of the stick way more than anyone could handle without going nuts. Especially because it's a children's cartoon, and therefore the evil villains are always slammed in the end just for being villains. Masters of All Time irritated me that way, but then it had Clockwork, who I adore... Curse my random empathy! I also think, Danny is a far better person than he gets credit for, but his character is once again skewed by the need for over-dramatic humor in cartoons. Well, anyway...


End file.
